Arizona advances bill for surprise inspections of abortion clinics

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona lawmakers advanced a
Republican-backed measure on Tuesday that would allow
unannounced inspections of licensed abortion clinics in a state
that has taken some of the country's toughest stances on
abortion.

The bill, which passed in the state House of Representatives
34-22, would delete a provision in state law mandating that an
administrative warrant be obtained from a judge to inspect any
of the nine licensed abortion clinics in Arizona. A warrant is
not required to inspect other clinics and medical facilities.

"This is not a pro-life versus pro-choice issue. This is
about the healthiness of a facility where a woman goes to get a
procedure done," said Republican Representative Debbie Lesko,
the bill's sponsor. "What is it that they have to hide?"

The measure, which still must be approved by the state
Senate and signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer before it
can become law, is the latest abortion-related restriction to be
sought by conservatives in state legislatures across the United
States.

Arizona state Representative Lisa Otondo, a Democrat,
described it as "a slap in the face to women and to taxpayers
who end up paying for unconstitutional bills."

Opponents said it was almost certain the bill from the
conservative Center for Arizona Policy would be challenged in
court if it becomes law.

Lawmakers in the southwestern U.S. state have taken steps to
limit abortions, and a federal appeals court last year struck
down as unconstitutional an Arizona 2012 law banning abortions
from 20 weeks gestation, except in medical emergencies.
Late-term abortions remain relatively rare.

Abortion rights groups described that Arizona measure at the
time as more extreme than similar laws in other states because
the way Arizona measures gestation means it would bar abortions
two weeks earlier than in other states.

If the surprise inspection measure is ultimately signed into
law, Arizona would join 10 other states that allow for such
surprise inspections, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a
nonprofit sexual health organization. Only one Republican voted
against the bill.

Arizona lawmakers previously approved surprise inspections
in 1999, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the
provision as unconstitutional. New regulations governing
abortion clinics took effect in 2010.

Backers of the bill have said the court's concerns now have
been remedied by the new rules. Opponents dispute that. Planned
Parenthood Arizona president Bryan Howard said the bill would
"open the door to provider and patient harassment."

The measure comes shortly after the Arizona lawmakers found
themselves in the national spotlight over passage of another
controversial bill on whether business owners could use their
religious beliefs as grounds for refusing to serve some
customers.

Last Wednesday, Brewer rejected that bill, which critics
derided as a license to discriminate against gays and others.
The bill had attracted widespread opposition from businesses and
political leaders nationwide.